Author Ashley Merryman Explains Why Losing Is Good For Children [AUDIO]

On the Friday edition of the Chad Hasty Show, author Ashley Merryman spoke with Chad Hasty about her new book and why losing is good for kids.

Last year, Merryman wrote an article in the New York Times about how losing can actually be good for children. The article quickly went viral, drawing large amounts of both praise and criticism from both sides. Merryman explained that giving kids constant praise and awards was originally believed to make kids fearless, because they couldn't lose. However, she said that policy has had the opposite effect, and has made today's kids narcissistic and incapable of dealing with failure.

"The idea was that if we give kids constant praise, if we tell them they're smart, if we tell them they're special and they're wonderful, and we give them constant trophies, then they're not afraid to try...But the research actually shows that it's the opposite, and that kids become really invested in being told they're special and wonderful and getting trophies, and they don't want to do anything to jeopardize those titles. And it's fine until they experience failure, but then they don't know how to come back from that.

Merryman also offered some tips on properly praising children, and said parents should be honest with their praise, but they don't always have to be excessively positive with their praise.

Merryman is also the co-author of the New York Times best-sellers "Nuture Shock" and the recently released "Top Dog." In the new book, Merryman looks at some of the factors that can either help or hurt people in a competitive environment, such as genetics, gender and the home field advantage. "Top Dog" can be found at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other major retailers nationwide.